Control mechanism



June 5, 1945. c. B. KURTZ 2,377,700

CONTROL MEGHAN ISM Original Filed July 15 1940" 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR CYRU; E .Kunrz.

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i 1945- c. B. KURTZ I 2,

CONTROL MECHANI SM Original Filed July 15, 1940 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

B H v- H BY ATTORNEYS Patented June 5, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,377,700 CONTROL MECHANISM Cyrus B. Kurtz,Lakeside, Ohio Original application July 15, 1940, Serial No. 345,507. Divided and this application November 30, 1942, Serial No. 467,377

11 Claims. -(Cl. 74-48 1) This invention relates to control mechanism for motor vehicles and'is referred to as the remote contro type. More particularly this application is filed as a division of my copending application Serial No. 345,507, filed July 15, 1940 and relates to subject matter divided therefrom.

In motor vehicle construction it is common practice to build the' transmission in as one part integral with the engine unit and, then, mount the engine unit to oscillate and move on rubber supports in the frame or body unit. This practice has greatly reduced the motor vibration and impulse shockstransmitted to the body unit and passengers themselves, but this engine unit movement has set up objectionable and dangerous whipping around of the long gear-shift lever which is mounted on the transmission and extends upward in a generally vertical direction to a posi- In addition to the above objections to the gearshift lever cluttering up the driver's compartment, there is usually grease and dirt on and about the lever, where it comes through the floor, smearing up ones shoes and clothing. 1

The controlling member is usually a small lever conveniently positioned for the driver's hand movement and the controlled member is usually another small lever or in some cases two small levers under the car floor and mounted on the transmission or engine unit at some distance from the controlling member. In the case of some vehicles with rear engined power, these control members are more widely separated.

Now, consider gear-shifting itself. The conunit moves freely with respect to the vehicle frame and body unit, it is advisable to interpose a compensating connection, such as shown in my U. S. Patent No. 2,071,348, or in my U. S. Patent application Serial No. 127,011, flled Feb. 23, 1937, to eliminate-the effects of the involuntary engine movement relative to the body unit and permit the controlling member to move the controlled member freely with uniform travel and even pressure.

The feel of a free and easy cross-over from the low-reverse shifting arc or path to the secondthird shifting are or path is desirable for good shifting. It is also desirable .to avoid the use of parts sliding through supporting bearings or shifting levers and bearings requiring perfect alignment-and costly accuracy in manufacture.

In the present production of motor vehicles there are many remote controls" in which much or all sense. of the "feel is lost, due to the sliding of shafts along their axes through bearings, the sliding or flexible shafts through casings and the connecting up of links at bad angles for working pressures and motor movements.

ventional sliding gear transmission requires shift movement in two approximately parallel arcs or paths; it further requires selection or cross -over from one are or path to the other path while the gears are in'neutral positions. The only way to find or know neutral positions, gear positions or anything else about shifting is by the feel. This "feel" in gear shifting was easy enough with the old type gear-shift lever; but with certain remote control" types there has resulted loss of much if not all sense of feel at the operator's controlling lever. i a

In order to have this feel at' its best in the remote control" type gear-shift where the engine For the purpose of illustrating and describing my invention 1 will show it in connection with a steering column, at least the upper point of support being on the steering column, the lower point of support may be on the steering'column, the

frame or even floated with respect to the steering column and held in working position with a link connection to motor, as shown in my U. S. Patent No. 2,071,348.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide a control mechanism of the remote control" type in which the-controlling member transmitsto the operators handpractically the same feel as in the controlled member or members.

A further object of this invention is to provide a control mechanism having a rotatable main shaft free to move substantially along its axis without sliding through hearings or other unnecessary entanglements.

A further objectof this invention is to provide a control mechanism adapted to operate a single link for selection and shifting with the cross-overcontrolling lever mounted to rotate about the axis of a supporting fulcrum member and also swing about an axis which is transverse to the axis of the fulcrum member to move said main shaft axially with respect to the fulcrum member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a control mechanism having a controlling lever pivotally connected between a rotatably and slidably mounted main shaft and an axially fixed fulcrum member, whereby said controlling lever is adapted to move said main shaftaxially and to rotate it in more than'one position along its axis.

A further object of this invention is to provide a control mechanism having a main shaft pivotally connected at its top end to a member journalled on the steering column and at its bottom end journalled in a member pivotaliy connected to the steering column, both of the above pivot connections arranged to permit main shaft-- axial movements along its axis of rotation.

Further objects and ad antages of this invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, reference being made to the drawings wherein I have illustrated certain preferred forms of my invention, and in which:

Figs. 1 3 and 5 are views in side elevation showing three types of my gear shifts attached to steering columns and link connected to transmissions.

of Fi 1.

. Referring to the drawings, the tubular main shaft I in Fig. 1 is mounted generally parallel to the steering column III, and carries atits top end a controlling member 4, see Fig. 2, pivoted at 5 to the main shaft extension 8. This exten sion 8 is preferably welded integral with the tubular main shaft I and is of an inverted U- section, forming a guide in which the controlling member 4 pivots up and down aboutthe point 5. The inner ball 6 of the controlling member 4 lies substantially in the axis of the main shaft I and seats ina cross hole I of the fulcrum plug 3, which is fitted to slide and rotate'freely within the upper end of the-main shaft I.

This fulcrum plug 3 is restrained from movement along its axis by the threaded connection to the screw I2, which is fixed rigidly to the supporting extension II of the steering column III. This fulcrum plug 3 may rotate on the thread of the screw I 2 when the main shaft carried controlling member 4 is rotated, or it may be rig.- idly fixed to the steering column II provided the cross hole I is chamfered enough and properly positioned to permit the inner ball end I of the controlling member 4 to rotate without side interference in the cross hole 'I when the controlling member 4 rotates the main shaft I through the necessary arc-for shifting.

The spring 9 reacts against the plug i tending to urge the shaft I downwardly.

The bottom end of the main shaft I preferably has a bent and 2 with afree rotating thread bearing in the cross block casting I3, which is pivoted to the clevis upper end .of the J-lever I4. This J-lever I4 is. carriedin an upright bearing member I, which has a horizontal pivot connection I] to the framebracket I0.

The lower portion'of the J member I4, which extends inwardly toward the engine unit 22 and terminates with a threaded end in the cross block casting I9, serves as the actual shifting lever and is connected by means of the link to the ball lever 2i in the transmission 22. .This link and ball lever construction is shown in my U. S. Patent No. 2,071,348 any my co-pending ,U. S. patent application Serial No. 127,011 filed-Feb. 23, 1937.

When J member I4 swings about its upright axis in bearing I6, it moves link 20 fore and aft to shift gears, and when J member I4 in bearing It swings about the pivot connection II it rotates linkZIl for selection or cross-over, while gears are in neutral positions.

With the assembly as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and '9, when the'outer end of the controlling member 4 is in down position in plane of the.main shaft I and cross-over spring 9 is extended, then the J member 14 is swung counter-clockwise about -pivot I7 and the outer end of the ball lever 2i is raised, so that the second-third shift may be accomplished by rotating the controlling member 4 about the axis of the main shaft I. When outer end of the controlling membert is in up position in plane of the main shaft land the cross-over spring 9 is compressed, then J member I4 is swung clockwise about pivot I1 and the outer end of the ball lever M is lowered so that the first-reverse shift may be accomplished by rotating controlling member 4 about the axis of the main shaft I.

In Fig. 1, the J member I4 is shown with the 35 lower. lever end in the cross block casting I9 bent to the right for the sake of making the drawing more easily comprehended. In Fig. 9 the lower lever end in cross-block casting I9 is in a better neutral position to split the shift travel each side of center; however, many vJ members are actually in use, bent back to avoid interference with exhaust manifolds on certain V-type engines.

The above described gear shift having a sin- 5'gle continuous connection from the hand to the cross-over within the transmission has the adas in Fig. 1, v

vantage of lower cost, better cross-over andcross-over alignment without link adjustments,

- and is free from outside tampering and locking up of gears, as common in the two-lever types.

In Fig.- 3, the main shaft 5| is mounted generally parallel to the steering column 60. At

the bottom end of the main shaft 5| there is a levers and 66 in place adjacent the casting 35 58. The controlling member 54, more clearly shown in Fig. 4, is-pivoted within the tubular side extension of the main shaft ii at 55. The inner ball end 5' liessubstantially in the, axis of the main shaft 5| and seats in the cross hole 51 of the fulcrum plus 53. The fulcrum plug 53 is ntted'to slide and rotate freely in the upper end of the-tubular main shaft SI, but is restrained from axial movement by the nut 62 holding it u seated in the upper steering column casting OI.

The fulcrum plug 53 also seats radially on the resilient bearing 63.

The compression spring 59 reacts against the bottom of the fulcrum plug 53 to force the main shaft downward.

When the outer end of the controlling member 54 is in the down position in plane of the main shaft 5|, the cross-over spring 59 is extended, the main shaft 5| is downward along it axis and the driving pin 64 clutches shift lever 65. Now, swinging the controlling member 54 about axis of the main shaft 5|, causes shifting into second and third gears. When the gears are in neutral positions and the notches in the shift levers 65 and 66 are lined up so that the driving pin 54 may engage either notch, then an upward movement of the outer end of the controlling member 54 in plane of the main shaft 5| causes main shaft 5| to move upward along its axis and the driving pin 64 to clutch the shifting lever 66. Now, swinging the controlling member 54 about the axis of the main shaft 5| causes shifting into first and reverse gears.

In Fig. 5 the main shaft BI is mounted generally parallel to the steering column 90. It rotates for shifting gears and moves along its axis for selection or cross-over. The controlling member 84, see Fig. 6, is a hollow stamping pivoted to the fulcrum plug 83 at point 85 d oted to the bent end of the main shaft 8| at point 95. The fulcrum plug 83 is threaded into the fixed steering column bracket 91. With this mounting for the upper end of the main shaft 8|, the movements of the controlling member 84 produce the same movements in the main shaft 8| as the previously described controlling member produced in their main shafts. lever 81 is integral with the main shaft 8| and is connected by the shift link 88 to the transmission shift lever 89 on the transmission 96.

'Referring to both Figs. 5 and 7, the lower end 9| of the 'main shaft 8| is journalled for rotation in the flexibly mounted bearing 98 carried in the stamping 92 which is pivoted to the steering column 90 at the fixed pivot point 93. This stamping 92 has a lever extension 92--A connected to the forward end of the cross-over link 94 and the rear end of the cross-over link 94 is connected to the cross-over lever 95 on the transmission 9|i. Referring to Fig. 8, it is seen that the stamping 92 is sturdily pivoted on axis 93 to the steering point 93 and the cross-over lever 95 is pushed counter-clockwise to select second-third shift elements in the transmission 96. Now, swinging the controlling member 84 around theaxis of the main shaft 8|, causes shifting to second or third gears. .If the controlling member 84 is in the neutral gear position, then upward movement of its outer end in plane of the main shaft 8| will raise the main shaft 8| along its axis and slight- 1y rotate stamping 92 clockwise to pull the crossover lever 95 clockwise and select low-reverse shift elements in the transmission 95. Now, swinging-the controlling member 84 around the axis of the main shaft 9| causes shifting to first or reverse gears.

The solid rod main shaft 8| shown in Figs. 5, 6,

The shift,

'7 and 8 is a cheaper construction but lacks the clean-cut appearance of the tubular shaft type.

Although-preferred embodiments of the inven-' tion have been described in considerable detail,

those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and adaptations of my invention to other uses can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not limited to the specific disclosures herein, or in any manner other than by the appended claims when given the range of equivalents to which my patent may be entitled.

I claim: 1. In a steering column gear shift control for a transmission comprising a main shaft disposed alongside the steering column, means at the upper end thereof for supporting said shaft and inducing substantially axial and rotational movements thereinto, a lever mounted on a fixed pivot adjacent the lower end of said shaft and supporting the said end for swinging movement about said pivot, means including said lever associated with said lower end of said shaft for transmitting rotational and axial movements of said shaft to said transmission.

' 2. In combination with asteering column and a transmission, a control mechanism having a controlling member adapted to actuate said controlled member by means of connections including a main shaft pivotally connected at its top end to a. fulcrum member journalled to said steering column and at its lower end journalled to a supporting member pivoted to said steering column.

3. In asteering column transmission control mechanism,- a shaft lying alongside the steering column, means for moving said shaft axially and rotationally, a lever pivotally mounted on a support substantially fixed in relation to said column and supporting said shaft and connected therewith to be moved thereby, and means connecting said lever to said transmission to transmit force and motion from said'leve'r as the latter is moved by said shaft.

4. In 'a transmission control mechanism, a shaft adapted to be moved axially and rotationally, means associated with the transmission to be moved to effect the control thereof, links connected to said means to transmit force and motion thereto, a lever pivotally mountedon a substantially fixed support relative to said shaft and supporting said shaft and operatively connected therewith to be moved about its pivotalaxis in response to axial motion of said shaft, said lever also being connected to one of said links, the other of said links being connected with said shaft for movement in response to rotation of said shaft.

5. In a transmission control mechanism, a shaft adapted to be moved axially and rotationally, a link connected to the transmission which upon rotational and axial movements effects control of the transmission, a lever shaped like the letter J and pivotally supported to be rocked about an axis extending transversely of its longer leg in about'the plane of the end of its shorter leg, said lever also being mounted for pivotal movement substantially about the longitudinal axis of its longer leg, means connecting the end of said shaft with the end of 'the longer leg of said lever whereby to support the end of said shaft and to induce motion in said lever about each of said axesin response to axial and rotational movement of said shaft, and means con- 4- necting the end of said link with the other end of .saidellever and inducing rotational and axial upon rotational and axial movement effects control of the transmission, a lever shaped like the letter J and pivotally supported to be rocked about an axis extending transversely of its longer leg substantially in the plane of both legs, said lever also being mounted for pivotal movement substantially about the longitudinal axis of its longer leg, means connecting the end of said shaft with the end of thelonger leg of said lever whereby to support the end of said shaft and transmit motion to said lever about each of said axes, and means connecting the end of said link with the other end of said lever to transmit motion to said link in response to movement of said lever about said axes.

'7. In a steering column transmission control mechanism, a shaft lying alongside the steering column, means supporting said shaft at its upper end and permitting said shaft to be moved axially along and rotationally about its own axis, shaft supporting bearing means at the lower end of said shaft, a lever pivotall mounted upon an axis fixed with relation to said steering column 7 and extending transversely thereof, one end of said lever supporting and connected to said bearing means whereby axial movement of said shaft induces movement of said lever about its said pivotal axis, and means connecting said lever'with said transmission whereby to transmit force and motion from said lever to said transmission.

8. In a steering column transmission control mechanism, a shaft lyin alongside the steering column means supporting said shaft at its upper end and permitting said shaft to be moved axially along and rotationally about its own axis, shaft supporting bearing means at the lower end of said shaft, a lever pivotally mounted upon an axis fixed with relation to said steering column and extending transversely of the plane of the axes of said shaft and column, one end of said lever supporting said bearing means whereby axial movement of said shaft induces movement of said lever about its said pivotal axis and link means connecting said lever with said transmission whereby to transmit force and motion from" i said lever to said transmission;

oted to said steering column, a shifting'arm'and a, link connection from said main shaft to said transmission, a secondary lever pivotally sup-" porting said supporting member and a; link connection from said lever to said transmission, whereby the sliding movement of said main shaft swings said lever about its pivot to 'select'shifting elements and whereby the rotating movement of said main shaft through said shifting arm and link connection shifts said shifting elements.

10. In a steering column gear shift control for a transmission, shifting elements in the transmission to be selected and shifted, a main shaft supporting lever pivoted to said steering column, a rotatable and slidable main shaft having a shifting arm at its lower end mounted to rotate on said supporting lever, link connections from said supporting lever to, said transmission whereby the main shaft sliding movement select said shifting elements and link connections from said shifting arm to said transmission whereby said main shaft rotary movements shift said shifting elements.

11. In a transmission gear shifting and selecting control, a pair of members carried by said transmission to be moved respectively for gear shifting and gear selection, actuating links connected to said members, an actuating shaft adapted to be given axial and rotational movements, an arm rigidly carried by said shaft and connected to one of said links and transmitting rotary motion of said shaft to one of said members, a lever pivoted on an axistransverse to the plane of said shaft and the other of said links and supporting the end of said shaft, said lever being operatively connected to said shaft at one end and to said other link at the other end and transmitting axial motion of said shaft to the other of said members.

CYRUS B. KURTZ, 

